Two United Airlines planes collided on the ground at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport when the wing of one aircraft clipped the tail of another while taxiing, officials have confirmed.
According to United, Flight 2652, arriving from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, was taxiing toward its gate when its right wing struck the horizontal stabilizer of another United plane that was stationary on the tarmac.
“Passengers deplaned normally and no injuries were reported,” a United spokesperson said. The airline confirmed that there were 113 passengers and five crew members aboard Flight 2652, while the second aircraft had no passengers at the time of the incident.
Passenger Bill Marcus, who was on Flight 2652 returning from Wyoming, said he didn’t initially realise anything had happened. “I was shocked that I didn’t feel something more,” Marcus told reporters. “Although when they separated the planes, there was some shuddering.”
He recalled that the pilot had announced a brief delay “to document something,” and only later did passengers notice people gathering outside the aircraft. “That’s when I saw the right wing had clipped the rear horizontal stabilizer of another plane,” Marcus said.
He praised the crew’s calm handling of the situation, saying, “I was glad that the pilot was professional, and everyone kept their cool, but it did make me think a little bit twice about what is going on. Is this an FAA situation? Is this a local taxiing situation? I’ve never had an issue like this in my life, and I fly quite a bit.”
Marcus said passengers were delayed for about 40 minutes before the plane reached its gate and everyone was allowed to disembark.
United Airlines has not provided details on how or why the collision occurred. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has yet to comment on the incident.
